Single instruction, multiple data (SIMD) is a class of computing instructions in which multiple processing elements perform the same operation on multiple data points simultaneously. Such instructions exploit data level parallelism. SIMD instructions cause the computer to perform simultaneous (parallel) computations, with only a single instruction. SIMD instructions are often employed for common multimedia tasks, such as, for example, adjusting the contrast in a digital image, adjusting the volume of digital audio, etc.
SIMD instructions frequently make use of data that is packed into a vector. Vector integer, variable precision barrel shifters are often an important part of floating-point unit (FPU) SIMD execution data paths. Barrel shifters often perform SIMD parallel shifting to support high-performance implementations of shift instructions found in instruction set architectures (ISAs).